U.S., Indian and Japanese maritime forces to participate in exercise Malabar 2018

ANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) -- Naval ships, aircraft and personnel from India, Japan and the United States will participate in exercise Malabar 2018, June 7 through 16 off the coast of Guam.

Malabar 2018 is the first time the exercise has been conducted off the coast of Guam, and the latest in a continuing series of exercises that has grown in scope and complexity over the years to address the variety of shared threats to maritime security.

Malabar began in 1992 and this year marks the 22nd rendition of the exercise. The exercise will feature both ashore and at-sea training. While ashore in Guam, training will include subject matter expert and professional exchanges on carrier strike group operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, medical operations, damage control, helicopter operations and visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations.

The at-sea portions will be conducted in the Philippine Sea and are designed to advance participating nations' military-to-military coordination and capacity to plan and execute tactical operations in a multinational environment. Events planned during the at-sea portions include liaison officer professional exchanges and embarks, a photo exercise, submarine familiarization, high-value unit and air defense exercises, medical evacuation drills, surface warfare exercises, communications exercises, search and rescue exercises; helicopter cross-deck evolutions, underway replenishments, gunnery exercises, VBSS exercises and anti-submarine warfare.

Indian, Japanese and U.S. maritime forces have a common understanding and knowledge of a shared working environment at sea. Each iteration of this exercise helps to advance the level of understanding between the nations' Sailors as members of Indo-Pacific nations, and the hope is to be able to continue this process over time to strengthen bonds and personal relationships.

In addition to the U.S. Navy forces, three ships from the Indian Navy and three ships from the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force will participate in the exercise. Please refer to the Japan Maritime Staff Office for any further information about their forces. Please refer to the Indian Navy Headquarters for any further information about their forces.

Lockheed Martin Wins Potential $928M Contract to Develop New Hypersonic Missile for the U.S. Air Force

Lockheed-Martin-High-Speed-Strike-Weapon-HSSW.jpg

The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $928 million contract April 18 to develop a new hypersonic missile that will travel more than five times faster than the speed of sound to overcome enemy defenses.

Under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, Lockheed Martin will develop the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW), a new air-launched weapon system. The company is working closely with the Air Force to finalize system requirements under the contract’s initial task order.

This is the first phase of a development program, with future phases progressing through design, flight test, initial production and deployment of the weapon system at early operational capability. The contract ceiling through early operational capability is $928 million.

“Our goal is rapid development and fielding of the HCSW system, and this contract is the first step in achieving that goal,” said John Snyder, vice president of Air Force Strategic Programs at Lockheed Martin. “Design, development, production, integration and test experts from across Lockheed Martin will partner with the Air Force to achieve early operational capability and deliver the system to our warfighters. We are incredibly proud to be leading this effort.”

The HCSW team will primarily work in Huntsville, Alabama; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; and Orlando, Florida; with additional expertise in Denver, Colorado, and Sunnyvale, California.

Lockheed Martin has developed and flown more hypersonic vehicles than any other U.S. company. The company has decades of hypersonic development and flight test experience from government contracts as well as internal investments in research and development projects.

The use of armed UAVs by the United States is increasing under President Donald Trump just as oversight of the lethal technology appears to be dwindling, a study released on 7 June found.
The report by the Stimson Center think tank looks back at Trump's drone actions during his first year in office, when he moved quickly to loosen some of the constraints put in place by his predecessor Barack Obama.
Trump has given battlefield commanders greater leeway to authorise drone strikes without first seeking approval from the White House or Washington security officials.
The Pentagon says this gives commanders better ability to make real-time decisions and insists the looser restrictions have not lowered the threshold at which it is prepared to execute a drone strike that could risk civilian deaths.
Stimson report found that Trump is on pace to dramatically intensify America's use of combat UAVs, which already had seen a rapid increase under Obama.
For instance, in the eight years from 2009-2016, Obama authorized more than 550 strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, as well as other countries where the US was not technically at war.
'President Trump reportedly authorised at least 80 strikes in his first year in office in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, and is on pace to surpass the strike tempo of both of his predecessors, which perhaps signals a greater willingness to use lethal force,' the Stimson study states.
The study also notes that the CIA reportedly wants to expand its power to conduct covert drone strikes in war zones such as Afghanistan, where such actions are usually led by the military.
'Should such a policy proposal be adopted, it would mark a shift in CIA activities in Afghanistan and represent an expansion of the agency's authority to conduct covert strikes in counterterrorism operations, thereby decreasing levels of transparency,' the report states.

At Eurosatory in Paris this week container specialist WEW announced that it has secured a $27.5 million order from the US Army for HIPPO water systems. The company will supply 241 units under the contract, with delivery to begin within three months and be completed within 12 months of contract signing. At full rate production the WEW Weitefeld facility will produce one unit per day.

The HIPPO water system has been in use with the US Army since 2003. WEW was part of the team that supplied 1,400 units in 2003-2013, systems still in use with the army, supporting deployed units around the world.

The new HIPPOs will be identical in form, fit and function to the original design. With a capacity of 7,700l (2,000US gal), HIPPO is a self-contained, ‘drop and go’ drinkable water storage and distribution system fitted within a standard 20ft ISO frame. With integrated heating, pumping and diesel engine systems, HIPPO can pump 125gal/min and can be transported on existing US Army Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) logistics vehicles. It is compatible with load handling systems and requires no site preparation prior to its deployment.

The HIPPO water systems will fulfil an ‘unusual and compelling urgency’ requirement of the US Army, with the contract placed under the US European Re-Assurance Initiative program.

“This new US Army order for HIPPO is a clear signal that WEW continues to retain its position as the market leader for containerised fuel and water supply systems. […] After almost two years of heavy re-structuring and workforce investment, this project will be the reference point for the future of the Thielmann Weitefeld entity, as we continue to strengthen our portfolio and invest in R&D,” explained WEW Managing Director, Björn Stolz. WEW is a Thielmann company.

The U.S. Navy and researchers from Florida Atlantic University are developing robotic boats that can launch aerial and sub drones to protect U.S. coastal waters.

“Our focus will be on developing a multi-vehicle system that can safely and reliably navigate coastal waters with a high level of autonomy while performing assigned tasks,” Manhar Dhanak, director of SeaTech, the Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, said in a press release.

The FAU researchers will develop new software tools for better sensing and collision avoidance as well as to allow the ship “to serve as a docking station” and power sub and air drones that latch onto it, according to a statement from the university. One aspect of the effort is developing software to help the surface vessel obtain a clear picture not just of obstacles to avoid but also friendly and hostile elements in the area, to help it better plan routes and paths for different missions.

It’s an example of the types of prototypes that will become more common, according to a Navy roadmap for the development and acquisition of autonomous systems. This Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems, which began circulating around the Pentagon last year, has not yet been released. But a predecisional copy obtained by Defense One shows that the Navy is pushing to develop and buy its drones faster, integrate them more aggressively in exercises and other activity, and work more closely with universities and other non-traditional research partners particularly in the design of new prototypes.